A mysterious woman appears...and challenge Jack into battle but what is her goal?

Chapter Cover: Jack standing in his Akatsuki cloak.

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

The one called Pendora

Jack stood there as he watched the beautiful woman walk in with that knowing smile on her face and her eyes shone with mischief. Her hair was glossy black, cascading down her back like water around heart-shaped face. Her almond shaped eyes were orange as they gazed at Jack.

"I was really interrupting something aren't I?"

"W…Who are you?"

"My name is Pendora," the woman said as she raised her hand toward her chest, "and it is common courtesy to give your own name when asking for someone else's name."

"Jack Haruno," Jack answered.

Pendora smiled at him.

"So you're the one that caused so much trouble," she said, "and you're such an handsome young too.."

Her entire arm started to slip into pieces forming tentacles.

"But i will have to kill you," she finished sending the tentacles at Jack who barely dodged them.

Pendora's tentacles went after him again and he dodged some of them as others slashed his body and clothes as blood seeped from the wounds, but they were already healing. Jack pulled out his sword and gave a look toward where Soya layed, unmoving.

"Why are you after me?" Jack asked.

"You have become a nuissace to the Elders," Pendora said, "I already terminated Soya Haruno, which was one of my targets, and you are the other one that have to die."

"The Elders…" Jack whispered, "Now DC is against me? Just fucking great."

He threw a blast of fire toward the woman which had disappeared from the spot she was last seen in.

W…what the? Where did she go?

"Here," a voice said in his ear.

A once tentacles took hold of his body and send him flying against the wall, leaving a dent in it. More tentacles lashed out at him which he pushed back with a wall of fire that erupted around him.

"You're fun to play with," Pendora said as she continued to grin wickedly, "But no matter how fun you are, you will be eliminated."

"Pendora's Blast,"

A jet of purple chakra was send toward Jack who raised both of his hand.

"SHinrai Tensei,"

BOOM

The large explosion shook the old chapel as windows were busted at the pressure of the blast and most of the walls had fallen, showing the canopy of trees behind them and since they were on the second floor, they could see miles and miles.

"Interesting jutsu that was," Pendora said as she appeared from the smokes, without much of a smug in her clothes, "I never knew ninjas were able to do things like that,"

"Guess we shinobies are better," Jack said as he smirked.

"But that was my weakest attack," Pendora grinned her orange eyes glowing, "I wonder how if you will be able to deflect the next one."

That was her weakest attack, Jack though shocked, That thing could have leveled the entire building and surrounding areas. Just how strong is she?

Pendora's arms were now fully in tentacle mode as they twisted in the air like snakes.

For some reason, she remind me of Orochimaru, Jack thought as the flames took the shape of four wings on his back, but I can't afford to hold anything back. She may be stronger than a Youkai Lord.

"Finally bringing out the big guns," Pendora said with a small smile, "I haven't had fun in years."

Jack put his hand into a seal and said, "Taiyou bushin no Jutsu."

Three clones appeared right beside him into flash of fire and all of them poised their blades.

"It is useless," Pendora said, "I can already tell which one is the real you. Ninja jutsus don't work on superior beings…"

The clones charged forward with their blades at each of her side, and the tentacles lashed out at them, instantly turning them to mud.

"Such as myself,"

"How the hell did you transform my clones into mud?"

"It is Youkai arts my young enemy," Pendora said, "As I told you before, amateurish techniques such as ninja arts, just don't work against a Youkai."

"Youkai Arts: Rampaging Devil."

Things started to appear around her forming a nightmarish horned creature with a strong resemblance to a dragon with three eyes and it roared at Jack who was amazed at the cheer size of it.

"Feel the fear around you, as my pet devours your very soul," Pendora's voice boomed throughout the place and the creature lashed at Jack who raised his hand.

"Shinrai Tensei,"

The blast of gravity clashed against the creature and it roared sending Jack flying backward, in shock.

He…he reflected the Shinrai Tensei? Jack though.

"Now die, Jack Haruno," Pendora yelled.

Her arm reformed a large solid one, the very one she had used to stab Soya minutes before and it lashed toward Jack whose eyes widened at the speed…

Won't make it in time, he though and he heard someone scream a name and he was roughly pushed out of the way…

SLUUUUUCK.

Blood was send splashing on the ground.

&&&

Some minutes earlier

"Loredia-sama," Rei said entering the room.

"What is it Rei?"

"Pendora had been released," Rei said, huffing slightly, "she is not in her chamber."

"WHAT?" Midnight, Poison, and Loredia said at the same time.

"It's true," Rei said, "i was checking the chambers out every hours since Doukai escaped and she was missing, and the seal was deactivated. I though she would have did it herself but I think someone let her out."

Loredia's eyes suddenly turned white for a few moments and then back to normal again.

"I know where she is," she said, "She is in Fire Country."

"What is she doing all the way there?" Poison asked.

"She seems to be in a battle," Loredia said, "and the one she is facing is Jack, there is another presence in the area but I can't identify it, it is too weak…"

"Let's go," Poison said, "Jack will need our help into this."

"I'm coming with you guys," Midnight said.

Rei nodded and both of them vanished into golden light and reapparing in front of an old building and they could feel the heavy Youkai in the air.

"Why would someone send Pendora out?" Midnight asked, "Isn't she a weapon…"

"Yes," Rei said, "only to be used during wartime against Youkai and Youkai Lords. She was created by DC's Elders, their own weapon if everything seems to fail…"

"You don't think the Elders send her after Jack…?" Rei started but suddenly Poison was gone, heading at top speed toward what seemed a giant spear heading toward a midair man…

"POISON," Rei yelled.

SLUUUCK.

&&&

Now

Jack landed on the ground, wondering who had pushed him out of the way, dazely stood up and was looking at Poison, who was hanging on the wall with the tentacle, sticking on her chest, making a large gap of blood there, and blood were falling from her mouth…

"Poison, no," he yelled.

"DC warriors," Pendora said as she smirked, "we're having a lot of interruption now."

"Rune Seal: Activated," Rei yelled as she pulled a small rune in midair.

A larger version of the rune appeared right underneath Pendora and all her tentacles seemd to retreat and reforming herself into the beautiful young woman she was before.

"This seal is weak," she said, "I'll break out in no time."

She started leaking heavy Youkai chakra, which was making the ground crack.

"This won't hold her for long," Rei said, "Let's get Poison and you out of here Jack,"

"I'm not going," Jack said.

"What?" Midnight said, "We just risk our lives…"

"There isn't time for argument," Jack snapped at her, glaring at her with his mismatched eyes, "Take Soya and Poison out of here. I'll take that bitch on."

"She is on an entirely new level than Doukai," Rei said, "You'll be killed."

"I'm not on the same level when I faced Doukai either," Jack said as the four wings formed on his back, "I've got Morsochi's power backing me up now. I won't go down easily."

The air seemed to be getting heavier as the marble floor they were standing on started to crack even more.

"GET OUT OF HERE," Jack yelled at her.

Tentacles suddenly lashed out at them and Jack raised both his hand.

"Shinrai Tensei,"

The force of the gravity make his knees buckle slightly at the sheer force that the tentacles were pushing on him.

At this rate, Shinrai Tensei won't be much of use if she had enough strength to got through it. Got to start using my own Youkai arts technique.

Thankfully, the gravity push was enough to send the tentacles back, if only a mere feets but that's all Jack needed to make the flames appear around him as a flash of golden light warneds him of the others leaving "Infernal Armor,"

"Finally getting serious eh, Jack?" Pendora said as she smirked at him.

"You won't be hurting any of my friends again," Jack snapped at her, "This time it's an all out brawl."

"Show me what you got, little Lord," Pendora said.

"Youkai Arts: Infernal Dragon."

The fire around his body grew in size forming a large dragon.

"Interesting," Pendora said.

The dragon roared and lashed at Pendora who, like a snake, slithered out of the way as the technique literally melted the floor where she was standing second before. Still smirking, Pendora lashed toward him, her entire body now, seemed to be formed of tentacles now and her eyes glew brightly like two suns as she formed a tornado of tentacles all around Jack, obscuring him from view.

"Nice try, but can you match this," her voice said around Jack.

"Sawing Storm,"

Jack screamed as every inches of his body was being cut, blood leashing out on the ground and he was end flying into the air where a tentacle took hold of his foot, sending him back down against the marble floor making a hole there landing on the first floor below, and the landing make him spat out blood.

"You can never defeat me little Lord," Pendora said, "No matter what you do, I'm the ultimate being."

&&&

Everything was cold.

The ground, the air, everything.

Am I dead?

Have I failed?

Soya, a voice called.

Was that my name? Soya, is that my name?

And that voice….i've heard it before, but who's voice?

Soya, the voice called again.

Who'se voice was it again? I can't seem to remember…

A face was taking shape in front of her, a face that was exactly like her own, but it wasn't her…

Saki.

Don't give up, you are still needed, Saki's voice echoed through her mind.

Have I given up Saki?

Don't give up sister.

Soya opened her eyes. The ceiling was familiar, like a distant memory of hers.

"You're already awake," a familiar voice said.

Loredia was standing there by her bed and she seemed to be waiting for her.

"You,"

"You might want to hurry," Loredia said, "Jack needs your help, and he is facing Pendora in mortal kombat."

Soya touched her stomach to see that it was healed. Off course, who else than Pendora can sneak up on people even Youkai sensing people without being noticed, just like the snake she is.

"Damn it," Soya said as she got out of her bed, "Jack wait for me, I'm coming, I'm not going to let you die."

BA-DUMD.

Soya suddenly grabs her chest and coughed.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Soya said as she was gone in a golden light.

Loredia stayed in the room, shaking her head in desesperation.

"She can never restraint herself before going to battle. She didn't change one bit," she whispered to herself, "maybe that's a good thing."

&&&

Pendora was standing in front of Jack's form which was on the ground as her tentacles poised themselves to finish him.

"So ends the reincarnation of the great Morsochi," she said.

Suddenly, she felt the sudden appearance of a strong Youkai chakra and it was strangely familiar...

Impossible, she though, I have her in a vital spot. Not even half-Youkai heals that fast…

"Youkai Arts: Lightning Claw,"

Soya had appeared right in front of her, with such gracefulness that Pendora though she was one of the Awokens, and she was hit with the claw strike in the face which send her flying backward hitting the wall where the Haruno symbol was.

"If you want to kill Jack," Soya growled as the lightning tails swished behind her, and she was raising her hand which was encased into lightning with the shape of a clawed hand "You will have to kill me first Pendora of the Awoken."

Pendora stood up, her face was twisted in pure rage and fury.

"You really need to die Soya," she growled at the red haired woman.

Soya is back into the battle. What history lay between the two?

The conclusion of the battle comming up next in 'Battle of the Lords'

Hope you enjoy the fic.

Jacques0 out.